The German national Constitutional Court present rejected (15.07.2025) a complaint against Germany, filed by 2 Yemeni who lost relatives in the 2012 U.S. drone attack. The attack was carried out through the U.S. Army base in Ramstein, Germany. Men claimed that Germany was breaking global law, allowing specified attacks through a base in its territory and not taking steps towards the US.
The Karlsruhe Court did not agree. According to the judges, the national Republic of Germany is without prejudice to global law unless it exercises closer control over US drone operations controlled by Ramstein Base in Rhineland-Palatinate.
However, according to the judgment, under certain circumstances Germany may be required to defend persons residing abroad. Among another things, there must be a adequate link with the authorities of the German State and there must be a serious hazard of systematic violations of existing global law. The judgement so goes beyond the existing caselaw, as explained by the Vice president of the Court of Doris König.
However, these grounds were not met with respect to US drone operations. The court was incapable to find whether the US applied unjustified criteria for distinguishing military and civilian objectives.
Ten-year judicial battle
The German justice strategy has dealt with the complaint of Yemeni citizens for more than 10 years.
In August 2012, 2 men died in Yemen as a consequence of an attack by an American drone. They were killed during a gathering with 3 suspected members of Al-Qaeda's terrorist organization. According to the applicants, the victims were a police officer and a clergyman who preached against Al-Qaeda in the region.
Two relatives, Yemeni citizens, have been in court in Germany since 2014, and have late filed a constitutional complaint in Karlsruhe. They have invoked the right to life and physical integrity enshrined in the Basic Act. The plaintiffs besides consider the national government to be co-responsible due to the fact that Ramstein's military base in Rhineland-Palatinate plays a crucial role.
In 2010, US armed forces reported the German Ministry of Defence that a satellite relay station would be built in Ramstein to control drones capable of carrying weapons abroad. According to the court, the ministry had no objections to this.
During the judicial battle, the German government argued, inter alia, that Germany's credibility in the military alliance would be compromised if it had to control the deployment of abroad armed forces in 3rd countries according to the German knowing of global law simply due to the fact that they utilized the base in Germany.
Ramstein is an crucial data center for the American Army. The drones do not start with Ramstein and are not straight controlled from there. However, the data is transmitted from the US to Ramstein via cable, and from there the signals are transmitted by a satellite relay station.
